Adults across Harris County can join Harris Health and the American Heart Association in preventing cardiac death by participating in two events this fall.

In this Q&A, Harris Health President and CEO Dr. Esmaeil Porsa spoke with Community Impact about Restart a Heart Day, the Houston Heart Walk, and heart and stroke safety. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Why is collaborating with other organizations like the American Heart Association important to Harris Health?

Dr. Porsa: For us to be able to achieve our mission—improving the health of our communities—we will never be able to do it alone. We have to be collaborative with the other health care providers, other hospitals, the county health department, the city health department and other community-based organizations that help us with our mission. Now, the American Heart Association, that's a no-brainer. Their mission is very much aligned with our mission. They are into research, identifying new ways of treating and preventing heart disease, cardiovascular disease, but also providing resources to people who are suffering from those illnesses. And that's exactly what Harris Health does. So, the alignment is perfect, and the collaboration makes sense. This year specifically, I'm the incoming president of the American Heart Association, Houston chapter, and that makes the alignment between our two organizations even more significant.

What are some specific ways Harris Health collaborates with the American Heart Association?

Dr. Porsa: Earlier this year, we were talking about how to celebrate the centennial of the American Heart Association, and we wanted to do something really big. The idea slowly morphed into providing mass CPR training. Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one cause of death across the United States, but here in Harris County as well, statistics have shown that less than half the people who suffer sudden cardiac death outside of a hospital receive any CPR while waiting for the EMS to show up. Research has shown that any bystander CPR will dramatically improve the chances of somebody surviving a sudden cardiac death outside of the hospital. The plan is basically to do a mass CPR training on Wednesday, Oct. 16, which just happens to be the international Restart a Heart Day. Our plan is to provide training to more than 30,000 adults across Harris County and the city of Houston. The ultimate goal is being able to have at least one member of each family, of each workplace who feels comfortable and confident to provide hands-on CPR in the event that somebody in the workplace or in their home suffers a sudden cardiac death.

The idea is to really make this a community event. We've also recruited many members of the community, including Houston Fire, Houston police, the sheriff's department, several churches, several independent school districts, all of our medical schools, several of the hospitals and federally qualified health centers. We have identified that on that day, we need at least 1,000 trainers to be able to achieve the goal of training at least 30,000 people.

There’s also an event on Oct. 26. Can you share more details about the Houston Heart Walk?

Dr. Porsa: The Houston Heart Walk is an annual event. This year, the walk is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26, 10 days after the Restart A Heart Day. The event is going to be held at Helix Park (in the Texas Medical Center). I'm chairing the event this year, so I’m very, very excited about that. The idea is to encourage people to come and walk as a simple, but also very effective, and practical way of improving your health. There should be a whole day of fun and exciting events surrounding the walk.

Harris Health has received a number of national recognitions for its heart and stroke care at both hospitals. Tell me about that and what it means to patients?

Dr. Porsa: I always maintain that, yes, we are a safety-net health care provider, yes, we have a statutory mandate to take care of the uninsured and underinsured, but when it comes to quality and safety, we are second to none. We compete with the best that is out there, not just safety-net systems, but not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals too. It's great to actually have proof of our ability to provide the highest standard of care when it comes to really any disease. It’s validation and affirmation of the great work that our doctors and nurses and techs are doing at Harris Health. It should be comforting to our patients that just because we are a safety-net hospital, it doesn't mean that they're going to receive second-best care. They're receiving top-notch care.

Do you have any advice you can share with the public about heart and stroke safety?

Dr. Porsa: Please, please, please get your annual checkups. One out of five people in the United States who has diabetes doesn’t know it. And the reason they don't know is because early diabetes is asymptomatic. Folks don’t know they have diabetes until later in the disease process or when they get their checkups. Diabetes, just like hypertension, is a silent killer. You don't know you have hypertension because you feel fine until you're not fine and a lot of times, by then, it's already too late. A lot of damage has already happened. If you can identify these illnesses soon and before they actually become a chronic illness, you can prevent or postpone the onset.

It’s so important for everybody to do what they can to take care of themselves. Simple things like walking and staying active are really very important. I cannot emphasize enough: Take care of your mental health.

Please stop smoking if you're smoking. That's the best thing that people can do in terms of reducing the risk of illness. Get plenty of sleep. I cannot emphasize how important it is to get a good night's rest. Get at least seven hours of sleep at night. Rest your bodies. It does make a difference.

Learn more

Harris Health is a public health care system providing primary care, specialty care and acute care to all residents of Harris County. The system serves county residents, regardless of insurance status. Harris County voters recently passed a $2.5 billion bond, which will help the organization continue providing high-quality care to the community.

To learn more about Harris Health or the AHA upcoming events, visit the organization’s website.

The above story was produced by Multi-platform Journalist Mary Katherine Shapiro with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.